Reborn, Literally
by testbaby
Summary: After being gunned down by Millefiore,Tsuna, content that he had done everything he could to protect his family willingly went to his final resting place. Imagine his suprise when he opens his eyes again... in a whole new world.AU
1. Chapter 1

Reborn(Literally)

Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman Reborn is not mine.

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Prologue

As the bullets tore into me and pain like no other bloomed, time seemed to slow down. I was devoid of fear, only calm acceptance. My heart was calm, mind sharp and focused. But that was to be expected.

After all, I did orchestrate everything.

They say that when people face death in the face, their life flashes past in their mind, along with regrets and what could have beens. However, as memories flew by in my mind,

_A kiss upon my forehead,_

_A rare picnic with my closest friends and family basking in sunlight and peace,_

_Rocking the trembling form of my once enemy when life struck him down once too many,_

_Drinking at Drunken Men's with my two best friends after a successful mission,_

_At a certain childhood crush's wedding,_

_Staring at blood stained hands, my hands,_

_Sweet nothings being whispered into my ears,_

there were no regrets in my heart, only a bittersweet sadness for the people left behind. I had done all that I could. I had done all I could to save them. My family, my life. Therefore, if the price was my life, so be it. It is willingly and freely given. After all, they were the only light in my ever darkening world. Without them, I would be left fumbling and lost in the eternal darkness.

Dimly, I heard shouts and gunshots and screaming, but it did not penetrate the icy silence that now surrounded my numb body. White dots flickered in my sight, darkness creeping at the edges of my consciousness. My faithful, loyal right hand man crouched over my protectively and kept shaking me, shouting for me to stay awake.

"Tenth! Tenth! Stay awake! Don't close your eyes! Please!" he sobbed pleadingly as my men arrived to surround us from danger. But too late. Too late.

I turned my head to look my right hand man, no, my best friend in the eye, trying to communicate my feelings that I could no longer voice as I coughed and chocked on my blood with my eyes. One part of my mind, the cold calculating part that I had to develop to stay alive in my cruel world accessed the damage to my body and the chances of my survival. It was not good odds. My left arm twitched, longing for a weapon. My lungs must have been punctured and I could not feel the lower parts of my body. My right arm flopped uselessly against my body and was bleeding freely. I coughed again, blood gurgling out as I looked at my best friend and smiled. A smile that conveyed many feelings- love, gratitude, hope, sadness.

" No no no no nooooo!" he cried pitifully, tears streaming down his handsome face distorted with despair.

The last thing I saw was his horror stricken eyes then the world dimmed and darkened.

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Pls review! Any comments and thoughts are welcome be it good or bad! i hope they are good tho!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Katekyo Hitman reborn is not mine

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Chapter 1

When he opened his eyes, it was to shocked large blue eyes. Blue eyes gave a muffled shriek and jerked backwards, landing on her/his arse. He surged upright with a gasp and was momentarily disoriented, a wave of dizziness suddenly hitting him. When it passed, he panicked, thinking that his plan did not go accordingly. _Why did I awake? Where am I? Where is everyone?_

He calmed down and forced himself to think logically. He remembered the gunshots, the shouting and most of all, he remembered his life draining out as his blood flowed freely. He remembered the creeping numbness and edging darkness. He remembered _dying_.

He concluded that everything proceeded as planned. If so then why did he open his eyes again when he already went to what he thought would be his eternal sleep?

Rustling to his right snapped him out of his musings to stare at a young girl gazing at him curiously and warily. As he gazed into her blue eyes, he realised that she was the one with the stunning blue eyes he woke up to. With a pang in his heart, he remembered another pair of eyes so full of despair and horror, worlds apart from these naive and innocent blue eyes. For a moment he felt regret. That he had to leave them behind, that he did not get to say his goodbyes properly, that the last thing he saw were those sad green eyes. He shook himself, no he did not have any regrets, he did what had to be done for everyone's sakes.

He broke from his melancholy and opened his mouth to ask the young girl, "Where am I?"

With a jolt, he realised that the words that spilled from his mouth were neither Japanese, his mother tongue nor was it in Italian, which was his second language. It was in a language he did not recognize and that was saying something as he himself can speak, read and write fluently in 7 languages, courtesy of a certain baby, claiming that it is essential in his line of work. However, what puzzled him the most was the sense of familiarity, the words rolling out of his tongue smoothly and without hitch as when he speaks in Japanese, his mother tongue. _But that is impossible_, he thought, _as_ _he had never heard of this language before let alone __**spea**__k it!_

The young girl's huge blue eyes widened at his question, because of the language or the fact that he can speak he did not know, but she answered incredulously, a touch warily, and spoke slowly like to an ignorant child, "Why in Asta of course! Wherever else can we be with all these red grass!"

All he did was sat there and looked like an imitation of a fish, mind trying to wrap around the fact that she said _red_ grass plus being spoken to like a _child_. It has been ages since anyone spoke to him like that, especially a young girl like her. Well other than the baby of course.

_He must have been knocked on the head one time too man,_ she thought sympathetically.

She waved her hand to the surroundings, probably trying to impress upon him the redness of the grass. He felt a flash of irritation, but look he did, and froze in shock. All around him was red grass! He himself was lying on a patch of flattened red grass of a few shades, sprinkled with tiny yellow and white flowers. Suprisingly, the grass felt soft like velvet almost. No wonder it was so comfortable. The grass, if it could be called grass would have reached up to his knee when standing. It stretched across the horizon, to as far as the human eye can see. And in the setting sun it made for a magnificent sight. With the darkening orangey sky, swaying grass and dancing shadows, it looked like the land itself was on fire!

And for a moment, he was struck by a sense of déjà vu, a vision of sorts, of sitting in the exact same place, enjoying the same orange sky and red land but with different company. With his vision, came the feeling of great contentment and peace but also great sadness. As if he knew that he was leaving those precious people behind soon. _Precious? _As he pondered upon the unexpected revelation_,_ a zephyr blew by and he suddenly shivered, wrapping his arms around himself.

He froze like a deer in front of headlights and looked down in rising horror at his bare, _nude_ body.

In a matter of seconds all his years of training and practice in diplomacy and discipline disappeared as his familiar, shocked cry, "Hhhiiiieeeeeeeeeeee!" could be heard echoing throughout the meadow, sending a flock of birds to take flight into the wide, endless sky.

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Pls convey your thoughts!


	3. Chapter 3

Katekyo Hitman Reborn is not mine.

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Chapter 2

As he sat in the old rickety chair creaking with each motion covered up in a rough, scratchy but clean( he hope) blue blanket, he took in his surroundings. He was currently seated in Blue Eyes' house when she kindly offered to take him home for something to cover up considering his, uh, _indecent_ state.

It was a small house, only one room, Blue eyes' bedroom he guessed, a bathroom and a living room of sorts, where dining takes place he presumed and a kitchen, where Blue Eyes currently is bustling about. It was scarcely furnished, grey walls bare of any pictures or paintings and a worn threadbare brown mat lay at the entrance of the house. However bare the house, it was clean and neat. The only spot of colour in the grey house was the single bright blue flower, the exact shade of her eyes, he noted, an odd looking vase, a wide base and a small opening, only as wide as the stem, as if clenching tightly upon it, on the table he sat by. Never being a flower man- the only flower he deals with are black roses which was only used to mark and warn his intended targets- he would not be able to differentiate a weed from a sunflower.

However, he concluded that the flower would not have existed from where he came from anyway, as the deceivingly innocent looking blue flower snapped viciously at his finger when he reached out to touch it. The vase rattled. He jerked his fingers back and made sure to keep them away from the sharp tiny teeth he glimpsed when the flower attempted to bite him.

"Watch out, **Bith** bites," Blue eyes told him as she walked towards the table he occupied.

He looked at her askance, assumed that **Bith** meant the name of the flower, answered blandly, "I noticed."

**Bith** snarled.

She handed him a steaming mug of _something _she had been preparing in the kitchen and settled herself in another creaking old chair across the table. He peered dubiously into the mug, a greenish tint to the drink, no, _paste_. He gave a sniff, subtly smelling for poison, as it definitely looked like one.

But she did go to the effort of bringing him, a stranger, to her abode, and provided him with the scratchy blanket so he shrugged, braced himself and brought the mug to his mouth. Flavours burst in his mouth and he was shocked to find the drink appealing to his tastes. It was sweet, with a hint of bitterness and leaves no aftertaste despite the thickness of the drink. He sighed blissfully.

"What drink is this?" he asked curiously.

"**Kava**, made from the best **kava** plants from my **patch**," she stated proudly.

He grunted noncommittally, having no idea what **kava** plants nor **patch**were, instead getting another gulpful of the delightful drink.

As he sipped his newly dubbed favourite drink, he took Blue Eyes in. As per his earlier observation, she was young, maybe around 18 and 19. She has rather plain features, but pleasant on the eyes. Having rubbed shoulders with many beautiful striking women in the past due to his, uh, _profession_, he found her features refreshing. Besides, those women were deceitful cunning creatures, so unlike the cheerful honest face of the young lady in front of him. Her only outstanding feature was her large blue eyes, gleaming with innocence and naivety, eyes so unlike his own and people of his life. Eyes like his have seen one too many horrors that human beings can commit. Eyes that look too old on his face, full weariness. His heart ached as he remembered a time when he had eyes like her, so trusting and hopeful, willingly bringing a stranger back to her house. But as the years gone by, even he could not cling to his innocence and hope that every human being had a little good in them. He could not, not after witnessing countless atrocities by man and committing them in turn. After every brush with death, every brief glimpse into hell, the naive child in him, the part that still held hope got chipped away.

Little by little, until all that was left was a world weary _tired_ man.

But most of all, his heart bled when he thought of his beloved friends' lost innocence. It is at times like these, as he gazed into the young girl's wide blue eyes he hated the baby for dragging him and his friends into that life. They were so young!

But above all, he hated himself. He hated himself for getting used to taking peoples life, like snatching candy from a baby. For feeling detached and numb, _uncaring,_ when grown men soil their pants at his approach, women crying and begging for their lives. For having to send his beloved friends, no, family to commit unspeakable horrors. For feeling helpless every time a member of his family comes home bleeding physically, broken mentally. At times like these, he mourned that loss of innocence and what could have been had he not got involved into that life full of despair and death.

He shook himself out of his morbid thoughts as he realised he missed a question directed at him.

"I'm sorry, please repeat that?"

"I said, I am Ril, who are you?" she replied, looking at him in interest.

"Oh," he smiled faintly, replying in that unknown yet so familiar language, "I am Tsuna."

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Okay nothing much happened in this chapter but next chapter tsuna starts his journey!

Thx for reading! as usual pls spare a few seconds to drop a comment!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Reborn not mine!

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Chapter 3

As Tsuna stood in front of the inn recommended by Ril, Amor's Shack, mindless of the people moving past him, he thought about the circumstances that brought him here.

He had stayed at Ril's house for three days, trying to come to terms with his new reality. It was a pleasant stay with Ril despite all his uncertainty and confusion and she even took a liking towards him.

"You are such a sweet man," she would say especially after he volunteered to help around the house. She was living alone and had to go out every morning to work her patch. It was her source of income, he discovered. She sells the fruits and vegetables she plant from her patch. She boasts that her kava fruits are the best in town.

However, he began to feel restless as the days passed by peacefully, something he had not felt for a long time. Back home, even if there were no threats at the family or raids going on, his family never managed to pass a day quietly, with Gokudera yelling, "Stupid cow!" followed by scuffles and muffled thumps, and Hibari's ,"I will bite you to death" accompanied by Yamamoto's cheerful laughter, "What a fun game!". Not to forget, Ryohei energetically bounding into his office after a successful mission, and getting spooked to death by Mukuro's unexpected, "Fufufufufufu". He still found that laugh creepy and was always telling an amused Mukuro off, when all of a sudden, Chrome's, "Sorry boss" throws him off. Not to mention, sometimes the Varia ( he and Xanxus were in a shaky understanding after _that_ day) will make an appearance and everything spirals into chaos.

So after three days of silence, lonely silence he decided to leave to search for the purpose of being in this totally new world. From what he had deducted, it was a different world from his, almost like medieval Earth. The clothing was different, no cars, or even electricity! No television! Oh the horror! When he asked Ril about entertainment, she blankly looked at him then showed him a few black stones. He cringed.

Besides, he also wanted to know about the strange feelings he got that prompted those unknown actions.

Just the other day when Ril had been preparing dinner, he offered to help. Unconsciously, he brushed past her and began picking from the meagre ingredients around the kitchen table, then set about bustling around the kitchen. At first he was a bit worried about his actions as he was usually a donkey in the kitchen but soon after he fell into a comfortable state in the almost familiar actions. Slicing the fish expertly, chopping the vegetables smoothly. When he was done, he set the plate in front of Ril who was sitting at the dining table staring at him in bemusement. He was feeling quite accomplished at the moment with his success( nothing was on fire) when she asked, "How did you know how to cook Lava?"

When he looked puzzled, she clarified, "Lava is Asta's most popular dish, almost like a national dish!"

His feelings of accomplishment were fading by the second. He glanced down at the red lump of sauce covering the blend of vegetable and fish he knew was underneath with a hint of whiteness around the edges and said softly, "It was his favourite."

"Who? I thought you were never here before?" she asked curiously.

By then, whatever positive feelings he had were completely drained away leaving him confused, scared and drained, "I don't know." They had their meal in silence.

So he decided to leave. At first she adamant on him not leaving apparently she appreciated the extra help around the house, but he was determined and eventually she helped prepared him for his journey.

So he had walked for two and a half days since leaving Ril's house with basic supplies that she could afford to give him, a few pieces of plain bread and a wooden container for water in a blue sack. According to her, it was a three day walk from her house to the nearest town and the supplies should last till then, but she warned him to ration himself. She also pressed into his hands a couple of circular pieces of a kind of metal, saying that it was enough for him to buy a room and dinner at an inn. She could not spare anymore and he tried to refuse her charity, saying that she had done enough. However, she merely smiled and closed his fingers around the money and he thanked her profusely, grateful. She has done a lot for a complete stranger after all.

Next, she told him to follow the red road to reach the next town. Apparently, each country is based on colours according to their distinctive features, (Asta having red roads due to its famous red grass).

She only gave him the basic rundown, red for Asta, blue for Merian, white for Sallek, and black for Balar. But she warned him to stay away from Balar as lately, there were a series of murders going on and to avoid Merian as well. There were disturbing rumours about the King being assassinated and Crown Prince on the run for being the main suspect, so the country will be in turmoil and would be especially suspicious of strangers in their lands right now. He gave her a heartfelt hug and left with her blessings.

...

The roads were busy this time of the year, where most people were travelling to Hanak, capitol of Asta for the Festival.

Ril had been vague about the history of the Festival, only saying that it was to celebrate the Rebirth of the world, something to do with a God's wrath and sacrifices and Guardians (the title gave him a jolt, hitting close to home). She could not give him a clear answer as the tale was lost generations ago, and the people nowadays only still continue celebrating the Festival for the sake of business and trading also regarding it as a holiday. Apparently, most traders and merchants from the other countries make large profits during the Festival as people all over the world gather at Hanak for the celebration.

So Tsuna walked alone and minimized contact with other people as he has always been uncomfortable in large crowds and he did not know the customs of this place well enough. He had bread provided by Ril and he ate it sparingly, to ensure that it will last for the next three days. Besides, due to past experiences on missions and what not, he could last for a week with only minimal food. So he avoided other people as best as he could only occasionally sharing a fire with a few travellers at night.

On the first day of his travels, it was a hot and searing day, he saw three men in red beating and kicking a man curled up and huddled by the side of the road, while another two destroyed his cart and belongings which were not much anyway.

"Please stop! I did not do anything! Help! Help! Please!" The poor man was sobbing and begging for help. However no one came to his rescue. The guards, Tsuna identified, spying an insignia sewed to the coat laughed at him mockingly.

" No one's coming to help you! You should have just given us your food and water! But you dare refuse! Look what happens when you refuse us?" One jeered cruelly.

In fact, as Tsuna looked around, he noticed that people just walked by hurriedly by with their heads down neither looking nor acknowledging the scene. Mothers clutched their child to them, tugging their curious pointing away, grown men averted their eyes, looking shamefully away but with a hint of relief as if glad that it was not them in the poor man's position. Tsuna was really tempted to help the man but he did not have any useful weapons with him and most of all he did not have his gloves. Not even his Vongola ring.

"Ahhhhh! Helpp!" the cowering man sobbed as a guard viciously kicked him in the head. Tsuna automatically moved to help him, to hell with his weapons, he could fight barehanded. Suddenly, someone grabbed him by the hand and he almost attacked his assailant when, "Don't! You won't be helping him any if you help the man, Mien bless his soul."

Startled, Tsuna turned to face a man cloaked in worn brown robes, cloak covering his face. A few wisps of hair as dark as midnight escape the hood but that was all he could discern about the stranger. The man continued, shaking his head, "Those guys in red are guards from Hanak and they won't take kindly upon you interrupting them. I understand how you feel but do you want to draw attention to yourself?"

When Tsuna reluctantly nodded, the man took his hand off and said, "I thought so. Be careful, there will be many more of these kind of atrocities from guards of the Shield of Hanak.

"How could Ranger let this happen?" the man continued under his breath, obviously not for Tsuna's ears. But Tsuna caught it anyway.

The man abruptly turned before Tsuna could say anything and headed towards three more figures off the side of the road. As he looked towards them one of the figures turned to him and he briefly caught a glimpse of bright blue eyes. Then they left as swiftly as the wind, leaving him curious and frustrated.

After that he witnessed a couple of more beatings like the first but wisely kept himself away. Before, he would have rushed in recklessly without thinking about the consequences but after all his experiences back home, he knew that he could not do anything to help the victims other than make himself a target as well. That first time he was taken aback so he wasn't thinking clearly but after the advice from the unknown man, he knew that no matter how badly he wanted to help, he was in an unknown world and he did not have his friends and backing that he had back home. This time, he did not have Gokudera's protective presence nor Yamamoto's comforting laugh, hell, he even missed Hibari's unrelenting will. This time he was alone so every time he ran into those situations, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fingers but continued walking, doing his best to ignore the pleads and cries for help, feeling like he tainted yet another part of himself.

...

As he neared the next town, meaning nearing Hanak, there were even more of the Shield. The Shield were supposedly patrolling for protection and disciplining any troublemakers. With the influx of thousands of people per day, many things could happen. Illegal products smuggled in, assassins sneaking in, slave drivers bringing in newly acquired slaves for sale during the Festival. However, more often than not, they were seen cornering people here and there either for sport or money like a petty criminals. They were especially fond of the old and weak. Their actions disgusted Tsuna, they were supposed to be protecting the people not bullying them. However he knew that it was to be expected, having seen and experienced it , heck most cops back in his world, were in his pocket. Humans are capable of anything. But he himself was a hypocrite, condemning the Shield for their corruption when he even encouraged it back home for his convenience. No matter how he tried telling himself that what he did was to protect other people, the truth was he was exactly like them.

Anyway, he managed to arrive in two and a half days due to his impressive stamina courtesy of the baby's training. So here he stood, in front of the inn, Amor's Shack, safely unnoticed but feeling like he had a layer of dust and grime as his second skin, dirty, dusty and rancid in his borrowed clothes which originally belonged to Ril's adventurous younger brother, Rol, who moved out years earlier to 'explore' the world. The clothing were not being used and according to Ril, she was going to discard of them anyway, so she donated them to Tsuna who needed it as he only had the skin off his back.

He squared his shoulders, and walked confidently into the inn. To dozens of curious eyes which snapped to him as he opened the doors.

_Oops, maybe i should not have slammed the door open so hard,_ Tsuna thought.

There was complete silence for a moment as all eyed the tiny brunette who stood awkwardly at the entrance. The attention slowly faded and conversation returned when Tsuna blushed under the attention and walked into the inn trying to make himself as small as possible.

_What happened to not attracting attention huh Tsuna?_ He chided himself. He imagined he could hear Reborn going ,_Dame Tsuna! _

So occupied with his thoughts, he did not notice two pairs of eyes tracking his form as he made his way to an empty table near the back.

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pls review! good or bad?


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: not mine

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Chapter 4

Tsuna walked deeper into the inn and took a seat at an empty table in the right inner corner of the inn. It was not as secluded as he would have preferred but it was the only table empty located in a place such that he could position himself facing the whole room with his unprotected back to the wall. It was a habit, instinct he picked up over the years as a survival method. In his position, as head of the most powerful and influential _family _in Italy, no, the world, it was a necessity for him to keep his guard up all the time. Even with his guardians around him, he always made sure to be aware of his surroundings; taking in every little detail as according to Reborn, every little thing is part of a bigger picture.

At first he scoffed disbelievingly at that saying.

Then one fateful day, he and a few of his guardians were closing a deal with the head of the Rodolph _family_ in conjunction of a merge in a cafe, an open place with many people as he was sure no one would attack them in public, not wanting to attract unwanted attention. He disregarded Reborn's cautions that day and nearly paid dearly for it. It was a day he would remember for the rest of his life, the day where innocent blood and most of all, his _family's_ blood were shed due to his stubbornness. He was lax that day, confidant and certain the whole deal was to be closed without a hitch. So arrogant he was, he did not notice the seemingly clueless old beggar bump into the one of his guards occupied in one of the tables surrounding him.

He should have realised something then, for his guards would not have allowed any Tom Dick and Harry to get so close to him. No matter that they were only in the next table, they were all overprotective to the fault and the beggar was already crossed into the danger zone. He should have known that only a professional would have managed to sneak up to his guards who would have been able to identify potential threat to him a mile away.

Suddenly, he heard a shout, "Watch out Boss!" and all hell burst loose. The once beggar had pulled out a Fabrique nationale 5.7 mm five seven and was going to shoot him when Gokudera jumped in front of him, "Tenth!" Tsuna remembered shouting "No!" as he saw Gokudera go down. By then, they were gathering attention from the people in the café, screaming and shouting starting as men with guns appeared while gunshots echoed. As the assassin cursed and once more aimed the gun to assassinate him, the Rodolph _family's_ guards jumped into action and started opening fire unmindful of the bystanders. His guards would have tried to avoid bloodshed and attempted to subdue the assassins as efficient and cleanly as he personally forbidden innocents getting dragged into their mess. However the Rodolph _family_ guards acted faster in that split second as Gokudera fell as they had no such reservations. Besides, they wanted to prove their worth and innocence to the more powerful and influential family which was attacked in a meeting with them. Shocked and stunned as it was only the beginning of his life as Vongola's boss, a Godfather, he did not react fast enough to prevent the carnage that took place that day. When it was all over, the dead body of the assassin that shot Gokudera lay bloody, riddled with holes on the once pristine white of the floor which was now covered red with blood seeping from the now unrecognizable bloody bodies of the assassin's backup, a little girl who lay on the floor head busted open from numerous bullets, grey _things_ mixed with thick dark blood splattered around, an elderly woman sprawled awkwardly on the floor, head twisted in an impossible angle, a young boy in his teens bathing in his own blood as his once vivid gaze, now a dull blue stared accusingly at Tsuna as if saying, _Its all your fault!_

From that day onwards, he finally realized the meaning of every little thing has a part to play in the bigger picture. Even an old unassuming beggar is worthy of notice no matter how insignificant. Gokudera survived but his eyes would forever be haunted with the knowledge that he could have met his demise that day, or worse, his beloved Tenth could have died. From that day, all his meetings were planned meticulously with zero blind spots and always held in an isolated space where no innocents would be involved and no more beggars turned assassins popping out unexpectedly, especially with the number of enemies he continuously made. He collected enemies the way children collects toys. Next time, he knew, it won't be a lone kamikaze beggar-assassin but the whole truckload of them. That was why he made sure there were no next time.

Therefore with his back to the wall, he felt more secure as at least one of his weaknesses is covered but he still kept his guard up and scanned the room with watchful, wary eyes, observing everything.

As he scanned the room, a barsmaid came up to him, "Hey boy, wacha want?" as he looked up at her, he noticed that she did not look a day older that 16 and she called _him_ boy? She was a tiny thing, with pigtails on both sides of her head, tiny lips which moved as she chewed on something, and a tiny button nose, and, "Well boy?" she demanded impatiently and not a tiny shred of patience in her.

"Uhhh, the house special and.. a room for tonight?" he said uncertainly, having no idea what was served here.

" Humpf.. wit kava fer yer meal er'not? Rooms an' yer meals r' two teos."

After some difficulty deciphering her words from her thick brogue, he finally passed two of the circular metals-teo- Ril gave him and gave an affirmative nod for the Kava. Tsuna watched her a moment as she sauntered off, dodging eager paws grabbing at her with well practiced ease, kicked a man where it hurts the most- Tsuna winced, oh well, no more Father's Day for him- when he managed to grab her to him for a sloppy kiss and continued her way without breaking stride. Shaking his head ruefully, he returned to his perusal of the inn and its occupants while waiting for his dinner.

He noticed that the inn held three main groups of people. The group near the door, the furthest from his seat consisted of the townspeople and farmers. They were obviously local or regulars judging from the friendly banter with a huge man who looked like an overweight Santa wearing a red shirt with the sign 'Amor's Shack' on his back. The fat man, as his bulk was 90% fat, 5% liquid and the last 5% fat, laughed boomingly ,"Ho ho ho ho!" (he even sounded like Santa) at something his companions said, his couple of chins quivering and jingling from the vibrations. Tsuna shuddered. Tsuna guessed that he was either a worker here or Amor himself. Eying the fat man, Tsuna concluded that he was most likely Amor judging from his overbearing presence and familiarity within the inn. Tsuna categorized them as harmless as rough though they were, they were only normal labourers here for a drink after a hard day's work.

The next group he was immediately wary of, a group of nine red Shields. They were seated opposite the first group, on the other side of the door. They were not as exuberant as the first group but it was a close call. However, they were rowdy and rude, acting as they please. A couple of them were having fun harassing the ladies working here, grabbing their ass as the girls walked by, pulling them onto their laps dismissing their fearful protests. No one offered to help the poor girls as everyone was afraid of them. Tsuna snorted in disgust. Especially when he spotted one of the Shield sporting an extra insignia on his uniform.

_Hmm must be ranked, that one,_ he thought.

How horrible, he was not controlling his men's atrocious behaviour. Tsuna scowled at him. He would never let his subordinates act so atrociously and out of control not that they would ever act like that in the first place. All of them had too much respect for the female species, prime examples, his mother and Bianchi. Suddenly, the object of his displeasure turns his head and caught Tsuna's eyes with his own black beady eyes. As Tsuna gazed into his cold eyes, he realised what kind of man would allow his subordinates to act that way. One without a conscience. That man had cruel eyes that belonged to monsters that enjoyed inflicting pain, to bask in the welcoming smell of blood and the slippery quality of it, the coppery tang of its taste. Here was a man who would caress a dead body like a passionate lover. Tsuna let his disgust and contempt reflect in his blazing brown eyes. With a last glance, he turned his head away from the Shield and continued his observations. Unbeknownst to him, those black beady eyes gleamed with something dark and malicious in its dark depths directed at him.

The third group appeared to be seasoned fighters. From their roaming hard eyes and tensed body, he guessed that they may be mercenaries for hire. They were probably heading for the Festival to get hired as extra help. From their battered body and rather tattered clothing, he deduced that they may have fallen on hard times. They looked worn around the edges. Tsuna thought that it was a bit strange for five mercenaries to travel together but oh well maybe it is different in this world. _Sigh, I must find a way to get more information on this world._

The rest of the tables were occupied by random people here and there, probably travellers on the way to the Festival. He suddenly stiffened, as he felt someone, some_thing_ in the shadowed corner opposite his table. It was deep and piercing, raising his hackles. Even as he felt eyes boring holes into him, try as he might he could not see past the deep shadows that shrouded and danced in that particular corner. The shadows seem to lovingly offer protection to whoever or whatever that lurked there. However even as his instinct honed from many years of living with danger screamed _Run! Run! Run!_ Another part of him seemed to _relax_ and heave a sigh of relief as if he a part of him he never realised was empty was finally completed. But he could tell that whoever lurked in the shadows was dangerous, a predator and he did not know whether he was the prey or not. He fervently hoped not. He could take care of himself most of the times but he the feeling he get when gazing at the shadows creeped him out. Granted, he gets creeped out when he encounters cockroaches, but still. However from the heat of the gaze burning into him he thought rather dismally that his hoping was for naught. Just as his nerves almost broke and he ended up stalking to that corner for a fight under the incredible heat of that gaze, the tiny girl was back with his food.

"Here ya go" she said rather dismissively and placed a plate of steaming Lava in front of him and thumped a mug of Kava next to it.

"Uh thanks"

"Humpf" she left with a huff and continued delivering mugs ignoring the catcalls and proposals of marriage and other unsavoury comments. He shook his head ruefully, _women_.

Heaving a mental sigh of relief that the arrival of his food diffused the tension a bit he prepared to dig in. He was starving! As he was about to start shoving food into his mouth, to hell with manners, a flash of red clouded his vision. _Oh hell can't I get a break? _

Putting his wooden spoon down slowly, Tsuna gazed mournfully at his plate of steaming Lava. With great reluctance as if facing an execution, he finally lifted his eyes to meet the cruel black eyes of the Shield.

Tsuna's first thought was, _Damn he is one ugly sonofabitch. _

The man was not a tall man, in fact he was rather short for a male. However he made up for his height in the breadth of his shoulders. They were large and bulky with muscles. With his impressive set of shoulders which continued to a muscular set of arms, he looked did not look proportionate but he certainly cut an impressive figure. He also certainly had quite the presence, high handed, overbearing, arrogant. However the most unforgettable feature he had was his face. He had a rugged face with sun kissed skin. A stubborn square chin with stubble and a crooked nose which looked like it had given up growing straight after being broken once too many times. But most of all, there was a hideous scar slashed across his face from the left eyebrow down to the right side of his chin. Even if the scar did not hide whatever beauty he may have had, his ugly sneer and sinister black eyes surely did. He opened his mouth, revealing hideous yellow teeth," My dear, like what you see?"

Tsuna snorted, "Hardly," he glanced at the nametag on the right pocket of the Shield's uniform," Captain Lock " and because he simply could not help it," You are one ugly motherfucker." As the man's face darkened like rainclouds on a sunny day Tsuna thought, _shit! Spent too much time with Gokudera._

Then suddenly he burst out laughing. His laughter was deep and booming filled with a sort of sick amusement and an edge of maliciousness. His hand shot out and grabbed Tsuna's chin. He brought his face near and breathed into Tsuna's ear, "It would be such fun to break your fiery spirit, to see you bleed and beg for mercy. I simply could not resist. I wanted you the moment you entered this dump. Mien's tits you are beautiful. Ahhhhh. "

Tsuna jerked his head out of his hand, disgusted and repulsed." You sick bastard!"

Undeterred, the Captain dragged a fingernail down Tsuna's cheek, "Ah, your face covered in blood flowing from here!" his fingernail pierced skin and drew blood from the corner of his left eye, alarmingly close to his eye. Tsuna winced but he did not back down, glaring at the insane Captain. "Then I would dig my knife in and make a mark here, like a beauty mark. You would be my masterpiece, my lovely red flower, then I would fuc-!"

Tsuna's table overturned in his abrupt motion as he stood up, food forgotten.

Tsuna heard the satisfying crack of bone as his fist met the Captain's jaw. Ignoring his own stinging knuckles, he spat at the Captain," Don't ever touch me, bastard!"

As the Captain stumbled into the next table nursing his broken jaw, he glared at Tsuna, hatred blazing in his eyes. Silence, thick and heavy had settled onto the inn, all the occupants frozen in fear and uncertainty. "You dare refuse Me!" the Captain roared. He surged up and rushed Tsuna. Tsuna settled into a familiar stance, retreating to his 'state' where everything else disappeared and his mind becomes focused and cleared. It was a state he entered where he could be anything, do anything. Like kill. Everything else, his conscience, his feelings are pushed to the backseat to be dealt with later. As he dimly registered the other Shields coming to assist their Captain, other occupants of the inn exiting as fast as possible like the hounds of hell on their heels, Amor attempting to salvage the situation but the a few Shields shoved him out of the inn, he dodged a punch to the face and blocked the other fist to the stomach. He threw his own punch which the Captain blocked by ducking and then proceeded to ram his right shoulder into Tsuna's unprotected stomach. Tsuna's back crashed into another table and he grunted in pain. The Captain straddled him knees locking Tsuna's hands beside his body, left hand gripping Tsuna by the throat and the other raised with a knife which he had pulled from his boot.

Suddenly, a hair rising growl cut through the racket. It was deep and strong rolling across the air like waves in the sea throughout the whole inn. In fact Tsuna could have sworn that the inn shook with the ferocity of the threatening growl. Once again silence descended but this time it was so thick and cloying, filled with unspoken terrors that panic entered the hearts of the occupants in the inn and wild gazes flew all over the inn, trying to locate the source of the ominous growl. The Captain froze above Tsuna and suddenly the weight on Tsuna disappeared. Disoriented, Tsuna heard something collapsing and a yelp of pain followed by, "Captain!"

He brought his hands up to his throat, massaging, panting and coughing, taking great gulps of air into his lungs. When he finally could manage it, Tsuna looked up. Into the enraged yellow eyes of a wolf. Tsuna chocked on the gulp of air he was taking in and started coughing. Again.

When he finally had himself under control again, he looked up once more into the eyes of his saviour. It really _was_ yellow. Tsuna could not really see his saviours features really well as his saviour was partially in the shadows. But Tsuna could tell that he was _Huge! _Tsuna noticed that they somehow ended up in the other corner, the one where the unsettling glares and feelings came from before. _Ah, so this saviour of mine must be the source of my earlier discomfort_, he thought, piecing everything together as there was no one or nothing else in the corner besides them. Noise cut through his musings and he sat up to look at the source of the commotion. He took note that the Captains subordinates were preparing to rush them together while said Captain sat on the floor cradling his right hand glaring at them. As the Captain's enraged eyes met Tsuna's contemptuous ones, he curled his lips in a snarl and struggled upright, shoving away helping hands of his subordinates and snarled, "Get them you dumb fuckers!" all previous fear of the unknown growl forgotten as fury raced through him at his humiliation. Tsuna wobbily stood up to face them purposely stepping in front of his saviour, unwilling to drag his saviour even deeper into his own mess. His unknown saviour apparently had other ideas as said person stepped out from the shadow. The saviour stopped beside him and Tsuna could not help it, he took a peek. And froze in surprise. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief. And recognition. And then horror.

_How! Impossible! _

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Yay this chap is longer than before!

Hey ppl tell me what u guys think bout this chap.

who do you think his saviour is? pls review! come on!

oh sori if there are any mistakes and pls inform me so that i can correct them


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